Exercise and God

I do not like to sweat (at all).

For the majority of my life, I haven't had to exercise to stay a certain size or weight, so I haven't been overly athletic in my endeavors. As I said, I don't like to sweat (at all). Besides, unless I'm working out with someone, I find exercise to be quite boring. I might find a video I like for awhile, but then I've done it a few times and have memorized it enough that I could do the workout in my dreams. Or take the gym. I might enjoy working out on certain machines for a few days, but then they too grow boring as I listen to my music and stare at the seconds moving oh so slowly. Exercise is not a natural enjoyment for me. I truly have to commit to it and make it a discipline, or I will let weeks (months?) go by without having completed one actual workout.

As I think about it, I realize that I oftentimes don't like to sweat when it comes to my walk with Christ either. It can be pretty easy to "look the part" without putting in the effort: go to church, listen to Christian music, hang out with Christians, maybe even teach a Sunday school class. I'm finding more and more, though, that Christ did not die so that I could look the part. He did not die so that I could be comfortable.

Let's face it: when we exercise, sometimes it's not comfortable. For instance, I'm doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred right now, and there are many times during that DVD that I do not feel comfortable. In fact, there are times when I don't think I'm going to make it. I want to give up or "phone it in" as she says. But, I don't. I keep on because I have determined that I want to be in better shape, and I understand that there is work that comes with it. I cannot just sit and watch the video each night and get into shape. I have to do something.

Likewise, in our Christian walk, we cannot just idly stand by and watch someone else do the work and then grow and mature as God desires. Instead we have to "sweat." We are called to love our neighbors--every one of them. We are called to take care of widows and orphans. We are called to take care of the poor. We are called. Our calling does not involve sitting around saying, "Oh, I wish I could help, but there's just too much to be done and I'm just one person." To see change in our life (and the lives of those around us), to become more of who Christ wants us to be, we are to go and be the Church--wherever God leads us, whether it's with the single mom whose child is in the same class as your child or the man in the wheelchair who could use help getting his groceries in the car.

I can't promise it'll always be fun, but I honestly don't believe obedience is synonymous with fun. Sometimes you will likely want to quit and you may even feel the need to cry out at how hard it is....You may even sweat a little (or a lot). But, just like with a good workout, the results will come. The results will not be the same for everyone, but they will come.

So, how about it? Are you in for the workout of your life? No, not the 30 Day Shred--the ride of a lifetime that God has in store for you. It might be tough, but I promise you won't regret it.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Insert Mouth Guard

Unity.

It's a challenge between husbands and wives, between mother and daughter-in-laws, among siblings, in the UNITED Nations, between co-workers, in the halls of Congress...

And even in church pews.

Sometimes it's just plain hard to get along. To accept and be gracious toward another regardless of whether we see eye-to-eye.

As you likely know, our church family will be voting on a proposed by-law change next Wednesday night. It is possibly the most important FBC-related vote in recent history so I encourage you to learn more about it and ATTEND the VOTE. However, I think we also to look beyond what happens next week. No matter the outcome, God is still sovereign. And, no matter what happens, we are still called to extend grace and seek unity.

Honestly, it's natural for there to be feelings of resentment and distrust on both sides. It's been amazing to hear of the cordial, no, GRACE-FILLED, conversations that have taken place. Praise God for that blessing and for our staff's leadership! But, I do believe many privately struggle with how to feel about the situation and the people involved.

Whatever side you're on, our church body is going to need some healing. And to achieve that, we're all going to have to make some choices. We, as many churches before us, can let this issue divide us and harbor resentment toward those on the opposing side. Or, we can do the harder thing and recognize that sometimes families face tough issues. We can disagree, but we still need to forgive and extend grace. Any gossip must stop, any judgement must end. God does not give us an option on this.

In 1 Corinthians 12, we read, "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor." The body needs all it's parts in all its states. His Word goes on to say, "But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other."

No division.

Unity.

Unbroken. Complete. Undivided. One.

1 Peter 5:8 warns us, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Satan is prowling like a lion looking to devour. He is watching this unfold with hunger in his eyes, ready to pounce, eagerly licking his chops because he knows this is a very dangerous snare for believers. He lurks for the opportunity to weaken us in our witness and our walk.

I pray that grace-filled conversations will continue to happen and, where there is temptation to speak ill-will, that God will guard our words. Psalm 141:3 reads, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Pray for God to insert a God-sized mouth guard in these coming days so we can strive for unity and protect the body of Christ whom God so richly loves.

And, finally, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Pray that not only will we have control over our words, but that the heart of God would be in us.

May God be glorified!

Defend Their Cause

Some nights when I was a little girl, I would sneak in my parents' bed after they'd tucked me in for the night. There was something reassuring and safe about being in that king size brass bed that was so popular in the 80's. Many times, I would still be awake when my parents discovered me. Even at eight years old, I remember making myself go as limp as possible to feign deep sleep when my Dad carried me to my bed. I'm sure my Dad caught on as I was too young to fake my breathing pattern, but he indulged me anyway. I suspect he knew that the whole ritual - being snug in their bed and then being gently carried back - made me feel safe and cared for.

Fast forward 21 years. I am a Mom now and I had a very sick little boy. My son could get very little relief between bouts of vomiting. As we laid on the floor, me massaging his weak, fever -racked body and praying over him, I had a distinct feeling of deep sadness wash over me. There was a sudden realization that, though Noah was sicker than a dog, he at least had someone to watch over him. I thought of all the children around the world who have no one to rub their back, hold a cool wash towel to their forehead or whisper words of comfort and love over them.

November is Adoption Awareness Month. There are an estimated 143 million orphans around the planet. Some estimates go above 200 million. That's 140+ million children who may never know what it feels like to be carried by a loving Daddy. That's 140+ million kiddos who will catch a bug, some from lack of access to clean water, and they won't have a Mommy to rub their back and console them. There are that many children who will never know the taste of a Thanksgiving turkey or know what it's like to sit around a dinner table and give thanks with a family. Their family.

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." I love that quote by Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision.

So, what stirs the heart of God? Isaiah said, "Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." No wonder God made him a prophet. He spoke some rich stuff.

For a God who spoke so much into the Scriptures about defending the cause of the fatherless, it seems we believers ought to open our hearts and pay attention. Lest we develop a religion that is holey, gaps conveniently left where it would be too inconvenient to act, instead of a faith that is holy.

We have so many options - supporting an orphan or child with one parent through World Vision or Compassion International. All for the cost of eating out once a month. One meal at a nice restaurant or providing food, safety and an education for a child.

Then there are children in need of a foster home. There are refugee children escaping volatile situations in their countries who arrive in the U.S. in need of a home and a family. You can pray about becoming involved with the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program either as a foster parent or a mentor. There are refugee children in the area in need of a mentor as I type this.

And, most obvious, is actually adopting. To bring home a child that needs a Daddy to carry her. One that will know the tenderness of a Mom's hands and care. To show a child what it feels like to laugh around a table and eat turkey with a family. Their family.

As our church often discusses core and non-core, it is evident that caring for orphans is one significant calling of and command to all believers. Am I saying you're a rotten Christian if you don't adopt? No. Am I saying all believers need to take up the cause of orphans and it comes in many forms?

Yes.

All believers.

So, I'm asking, what can and WILL you and your family do to show the love of Jesus to a fatherless and motherless child?

Disobedience vs. Obedience. Holey vs. Holy

Choose Obedience. Choose Holy.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James...God spoke good things through him, too!

Rethinking Ruth

Ruth has always been held up as one of those "quiet, godly women" who did the right thing, followed the rules, fell into a beautiful love story, and lived happily ever after.

I don't think so.

Let's spin her story with a few facts: The eventual great-grandmother of King David converted from a child-sacrificing religion to a self-sacrificing faith in Yahweh. When she made the jump (see Ruth 1:16), she gave up everything--family, heritage, culture, people, comfort, security, home--in exchange for an adopted God, an ungrateful mother-in-law, a new land and people, potential rejection, struggle, and hard work.

Upon arriving in her new town, she challenged the local landowner to "walk his talk" by allowing her to work his fields. She harvest grain by hand daily, sometimes hauling home 30 to 60 pounds on her back. She later challenged the landowner to obey his God by providing for his relatives through marriage. Yes, she proposed to him! And when she gave birth to her first son, she gave him over to the care of that now grateful mother-in-law.

Consider the followng commentary:

"Careful reexamination of the Hebrew text has effectively removed the shrink-wrap that for generations has encased Ruth. She emerges, not as the passive, deferential, demure woman we once thought we knew, but as a surprisingly gutsy risk taker. The young Moabite widow discards cultural protocol, her own hopes of happiness, and even plain reason when she embraces Naomi's terrifying God and binds herself for life to her mother-in-law. In one pivotal moment, Ruth's identity and center of gravity change forever. The rest of her story is a stunning (and at times shocking) chronicle of her efforts to live out what it means to be Yahweh's child."

Carolyn Custis James, The Gospel of Ruth

Becoming a child of Yahweh--and these days, we tend to call ourselves followers of Jesus, or Christians--involves more than saying a prayer and getting dunked. God expects action to follow faith. Ruth certainly lived her faith, dramatically! We are called to do the same: "serve one another," "love one another," "take up your cross and follow Me," "visit the sick, clothe the naked, feed the hungry," "if you love Me you'll do what I command you," "submit to one another," "forgive as I have forgiven you," "preach the Word," "go and make disciples"...

Yes, the Christian life resembles Ruth's life. It's full of risks, challenges, hard work, and sacrifice. It's full of grace, reward, blessing, joy, and peace.

It's worth it!

To those Stitches readers in the Collin County/McKinney area: FBC McKinney's women's ministry will be offering a 5-week study of Ruth starting in September 2009. Visit www.fbcmckinney.com for details on how to register. We'll work through Sandra Glahn's Coffee Cup Bible study, Premium Roast with Ruth, with a healthy dose of James's The Gospel of Ruth as a supplement. Join us!